To sponsor my wife who's currently outside Canada, and to be able to work ASAP?

[aboforever]

Hi all!

Here's the situation. I'm Canadian and she's from Taiwan. We were married 4 years ago in Taiwan and we both moved to the US for grad school. We are currently residing in the US right now and we plan on moving back to Canada in around 1 year.

We would like to both be able to work ASAP.

Should we apply for her sponsorship now, as a "spouse living outside Canada", and wait (the current application time is approx 17 months). Or should we wait til we move back to Canada, and apply as "spouse living inside Canada", and apply for that temporary work permit while the application is processing?

Or is it possible that we can apply as spouse living "outside" Canada, it will be about 10 months before we move back, and while it is still processing the 17 months wait time, we move back to Canada and will she be eligible to apply for the temporary work permit while we wait? Or would she have to just wait out the rest of the application period?

Or any other comments and suggestions on what the best route for us is, and if you guys know of any documents that will take time to process that we should get ready for, please let us know! Thank you guys very much in advance!

 

[canadausa#11]

No you can not apply outland and get the work permit. Well unless she gets a job offer, positive LMO etc etc.

And the 17 months processing time is most likely misleading, go find the spreadsheet for the visa office that her application will be going to and see some recent examples of how long it is taking people through that visa office.

 

[Ivyxu]

You are not able to choose apply inside or outside of Canada, CIC does.
In your situation, your case will be processed in Canada. When you apply the sponsorship ,you can submit an open work permit at the same time.
And the work permit takes 6 months to be issued , the whole processing time is about 30 months now based on information supplied by CIC today.

 

[MilesAway]

You are not able to choose apply inside or outside of Canada, CIC does.
In your situation, your case will be processed in Canada. When you apply the sponsorship ,you can submit an open work permit at the same time.
And the work permit takes 6 months to be issued , the whole processing time is about 30 months now based on information supplied by CIC today.

That is not correct. You have the choice. You choose the forms and send them to the relevant address.

I don't recall which VO handles Taiwan, so you'd have to look into that and then find the thread for the VO to get an idea of the usual processing times. Most standard applications are done in under a year.

 

[aboforever]

So upon reading some more topics on this forum, I've read that the CIC is pretty strict on Canadian sponsoring from outside of Canada, and would need to submit proofs of intention to move back, and just talking about it I assume isn't enough correct? I don't want to resign from my job now so am wondering what other proofs we can provide to substantiate my point.

So would it be safest to apply when we both move back to Canada? Or you guys think its worth it to give it a shot first from outside before we move back in a year?

Thank you guys for your replies so far!

 

[Ponga]

You are not able to choose apply inside or outside of Canada, CIC does.
In your situation, your case will be processed in Canada. When you apply the sponsorship ,you can submit an open work permit at the same time.
And the work permit takes 6 months to be issued , the whole processing time is about 30 months now based on information supplied by CIC today.

As MilesAway has said, this is incorrect. The applicant decides whether to submit an Outland or Inland (if they are in Canada) application, NOT CIC.

Since she has been studying (and living) in the U.S., there's a chance that an Outland application will be processed in Ottawa, which is where most applications from Americans are processed. If this is the case, the processing time for her application could be under 12 months.

 

[aboforever]

As MilesAway has said, this is incorrect. The applicant decides whether to submit an Outland or Inland (if they are in Canada) application, NOT CIC.

Since she has been studying (and living) in the U.S., there's a chance that an Outland application will be processed in Ottawa, which is where most applications from Americans are processed. If this is the case, the processing time for her application could be under 12 months.

How would I find out if they will accept my application in Ottawa rather than Hong Kong, which is currently where all the Taiwanese applicants are processed? Thanks!

 

[scylla]

How would I find out if they will accept my application in Ottawa rather than Hong Kong, which is currently where all the Taiwanese applicants are processed? Thanks!

You won't find out until you actually submit the application and CIC sends it to a local office. CIC decides - not you. Unfortunately none of us can predict with certainty what they will do.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

How would I find out if they will accept my application in Ottawa rather than Hong Kong, which is currently where all the Taiwanese applicants are processed? Thanks!

There is no way for you to know which office they will choose. Lately, it seems that the majority of applications have been sent to the VO of nationality. That isn't a bad thing, as Hong Kong averages about the same as Ottawa, around 8 months.

I suggest you apply outland. For the proof of intent to return to Canada, there is nothing concrete that is required. Some people only submit letters from friends and family confirming the move and have no issues. Some people get a request for more concrete proof later on in the process, at which point you would be closer to moving and have more proof.